As the sophisticated eye-in-the-sky technology the military has deployed in the war in Afghanistan and against drug Mexican cartels along the border becomes a Pentagon fixture, state lawmakers have introduced several bills to ensure that Arizona is part of the high-tech revolution, without turning it into a police state.

The U.S. military has used drones around the world for more than a decade, patrolling hot spots, gathering evidence and launching airstrikes. The unmanned craft are nothing new to Arizona either.

The federal government has used them within the state to help fight forest fires and patrol the border. The Fort Huachuca Army base in southern Arizona houses the largest unmanned-aircraft-system training center in the world, employing hundreds of private contractors and civilian instructors and training more than 1,300 students a year, according to the Army.

Arizona-based defense contractors are cashing in on what has become a $4 billion-a-year investment for the military alone, not to mention the growing private and foreign government uses.

And universities in the state are pushing to develop the necessary workforce. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz.; the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz.; and Arizona State University in Tempe, Ariz., offer programs related to drones.

State lawmakers are doing their part via legislation to prepare for greater growth.

House Concurrent Resolution 2009, sponsored by Rep. Tom Forese, a Republican from Chandler, Ariz., reinforces Arizona's push to be a Federal Aviation Administration selection as one of six national drone- testing sites.

The National Defense Authorization Act, which President Barack Obama signed in 2011, authorized the sites where officials could test drones in civil airspace near commercial air traffic. The sites were scheduled to be chosen in December, but the FAA delayed a decision indefinitely, saying it needed to address safety and privacy concerns.

Arizona officials said they are hopeful the state still will be chosen.

HCR 2009 has passed the House Public Safety, Military and Regulatory Affairs Committee with unanimous bipartisan support. It now awaits a vote of the full state House.

Officials also are preparing for what they fear could be a worst-case scenario in the future of drone technology.

House Bill 2574, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Dial, also a Republican from Chandler, makes it illegal for state or local law-enforcement officials to use a drone to collect information unless they have a search warrant.

It also makes it illegal to monitor individuals inside their homes or places of worship. It has exceptions for law-enforcement officials investigating human trafficking or drug smuggling as long as they are doing so on public property or with permission on private property.

Dial said he is working on the bill and expects to make some changes.

Rep. Carl Seel, a Phoenix Republican, also introduced a bill that would forbid state and local governments from assisting in any way with enforcing portions of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 that allows the military to detain a U.S. citizen. But Seel said he is putting his support behind Dial's bill.

The bills come amid controversy surrounding a White House legal argument justifying drone-missile strikes against U.S. citizens who are part of terrorist groups overseas.

"We need to protect something called the Fourth Amendment," Seel said, adding that he has heard "unverified" reports of drones being used to survey citizens in Arizona. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable searches.

He said the bills restricting drones are not intended to limit the federal government's use of drones to protect the border.

Dial said his bill is intended to be pre-emptive.

"What I want to do is protect citizens' rights," he said. "We don't want to live in a police state. We don't want to have drones everywhere in society."

Dial also supports the resolution seeking to make Arizona a test site and efforts to promote drone research and business opportunities in the state.

"I want the jobs here, and there are definitely uses for drones," he said. "But I don't want civil liberties and privacy invaded."

He said the two bills address separate issues and can work together.

"The problem isn't technology," Dial said. "It's how humans use the technology."